Stereo tape cartridge container



May 28, 1968 ADELL STEREO TAPE CARTRIDGE CONTAINER Filed Jan. 5, 1967 8, fii

l NVENTOR. BY P056212 Fla/Z United States Patent "ice r 3,385,643 STEREO TAPE CARTRIDGE CONTAINER Robert Adell, Birmingham, Mich, assignor to U.S. Products Development, Detroit, Mich, a Michigan partnership Filed Jan. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 606,849 7 Claims. (Cl. 312-348) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention pertains to a detent molded from the same material as its support which is deflected by an article as it moves thereby until a notch therein receives the detent which secures the article against accidental displacement.

This invention relates to containers, and particularly to a container having compartments with detents for securing an article therein.

Brief summary of the invention The container of the present invention has a top, bottom, back and two side walls with an open front. Ledges extend inwardly from the side walls and one or more partitions may be employed to provide a plurality of side by side compartments. The partitions have spaced side walls which with the side walls of the container have aligned ledges spaced one above the other a distance to receive the thickness of the article supported thereby. The articles have a notch on one edge to be engaged by a detent which is molded with the ledge and the side walls in position to be engaged by a side edge of the article which contains a notch. The material of the container is flexible and of a type having memory so that after deflection it will return to its initial position. Poly propylene and other materials known in the art to have this property may be employed. As the article is slid inwardly into the compartment on a pair of ledges, the detent will be deflected as the article passes thereby until the notch receives the detent as the article engages the back wall of the container. The articles will be retained within the container by the detent with the front end extending forwardly through the open front so that they can be selectively removed and replaced within the container for storage.

Brief description of the drawing FIGURE 1 is a front view in elevation of a container having locking detents therein embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a broken plan and sectional view of the structure of FIG. 1, taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken on the line 3-3 thereof; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken on the line 44 thereof.

Description of the preferred embodiment A container has a bottom 11, a top 12, a back wall 13 and side walls 14 and 15. A partition 16 has two side walls 17 and 18 and a front wall section 19. The partition divides the container into two compartments 21 and 22, and may be omitted when a single container is desired or more than one partition may be provided when three or more compartments are to be employed.

The example of the container herein illustrated, is constructed to house stereo film holders which are employed with a stereo mechanism of an automotive vehicle. The

3,385,643 Patented May 28, 1968 top 12 and rear wall 13 have a pair of key slots 23 by which the container is secured to the bottom of the vehicle instrument panel or on the front face of the dash panel, respectively. The open front 20 may be vertically disposed but is herein illustrated in FIG. 4 as sloping from the bottom outwardly to the top. The depth of the container is less than the length of the holder so that the front portion thereof will extend outwardly of the open front so that one can be grasped by the fingers and pulled from the compartment.

Each compartment is divided into three receiving areas by ledges 24 so spaced as to receive the holders therebetween. It is to be understood that two or four or more areas could be employed in each compartment in place of the three herein illustrated. The inner surface of the bottom wall 11 has a pair of lands 25 extending upwardly therein on which the bottom of the holder rests and slides when moved inwardly and outwardly of the area. The ledge and the lands are so spaced as to snugly engage the top and bottom of the holders so as to reduce the possibility of relative movement therebetween.

To more securely anchor the holders within the areas, a detent 26 is provided on the bottom land 25 and the two adjacent ledges 24 on the right hand wall of each com partment, that is to say, on wall 14 of the compartment 21 and the wall 18 of the compartment 22. The detent extends outwardly into the path of the right hand side wall 27 of the holder 28 which deflects the detent and the supporting wall as the side wall 27 is advanced. The side wall 27 has a V-shaped notch 29 therein which receives the detent when the end of the holder 28 strikes the back wall 13 of the container. The memory of the material of the detent and wall will move the detent into the V-slot 29 and since the detent is also of V-shape it will urge the holder 28 against the rear wall 13 and lock the holder within the area against rattling and movement.

The top wall 12 is spaced from the top ledges 24 by having it slope rearwardly so that if there is any upward deflection of the ledges, the top ledge 24 is free to deflect toward the top 23, and in this manner pressure can be provided on the holders so that they can be retained against movement to prevent their rattling within the area assisted by the lock provided by the detent 26 when disposed within the notch 29.

What is claimed is:

1. In a container having a bottom, top, back and side walls forming a compartment, ledges on said side walls extending inwardly in planar relation, a detent on at least one of said ledges and side walls extending inwardly from said side wall, said container, ledges and detent being made of a flexible material having memory so that afte being deflected the detent will return to its initial position, and an article which has a notch in a side wall which receives the detent after it is deflected by the side wall of the article as it passes thereby.

2. In a container as recited in claim 1, wherein the front face of the container is open so as to permit the articles to extend therefrom while being retained therein by the detent.

3. In a container as recited in claim 2, wherein a plurality of ledges are provided in the container spaced approximately a distance equal to the thickness of the articles so as to engage the articles disposed therebetween and prevent them from shifting.

4. In a container as recited in claim 1, wherein a partition is provided having spaced side walls parallel to the side walls of the container forming a second compartment of the same dimension as the first compartment and having similar ledges and detents therein for removably supporting articles one above the other and in side-by-side relationship.

5. In a container as recited in claim I, wherein the inner face of the bottom wall has spaced lands on which the bottom article rests and with which the detent engages.

6. In a container as recited in claim 1, wherein the top wall is spaced slightly above the top ledges to permit the top ledges to he deflected theretoward.

7. In a container as recited in claim 1, wherein the top and rear Walls are provided with key slots one or the other of which can be used to secure the container in a selected position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS De Boer 312-246 X Maise 312332 Baumgartner 22041 Hendricks 312246 Sullivan 312-20 Crump 220-41 10 JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner. 

